DOCSLIB.ORG

Don't Divest, Educate—An Open Letter to American Universities

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Don't Divest, Educate—An Open Letter to American Universities Don’t Divest, Educate—An Open Letter to American Universities Dear American Universities, You have no doubt heard the calls by certain environmentalist groups for you to publicly divest your endowments of any investments in the fossil fuel industry. We ask that you reject these calls as an attempt to silence legitimate debate about our energy and environmental future. The leaders of the divestment movement say it is not debatable that the fossil fuel industry is “Public Enemy Number One”—that it deserves to be publicly humiliated by having America’s leading educational institutions single it out for divestment. But the divestment movement refuses to grapple with, let alone educate students about, the staggering, and arguably irreplaceable, benefits we derive from that industry. The fossil fuel industry produces 87 percent of the energy people around the world use to feed, clothe, shelter, heal, comfort, and educate themselves. It has fueled the unprecedented increase in industrial development, life expectancy, and quality of life we have seen over the last 30 years. And despite received wisdom about our environment and climate, our fossil fueled society has experienced a dramatic improvement in all environmental indicators worldwide, including a staggering decline in the number of climate- related deaths. We the undersigned are proud to stand in favor of fossil fuels. Based on our honest attempt to reach a balanced, big-picture perspective on coal, oil, and gas, we passionately believe that the economic and environmental benefits of fossil fuels far outweigh the hazards, and that it is not a “necessary evil” but a moral imperative to make use of the most productive, life-giving energy sources available to us at any point in time. But unlike the divestment movement, we do not ask universities to take an official stand in our favor on this complex issue, which requires extensive education and thought—not official dogma and stigmatization. What we ask for is a more rigorous education on energy and environmental issues. Today’s students do not learn even basic facts about the energy sources that make our civilization possible. But they are encouraged to take strong policy positions on the basis of extremely speculative predictions by individuals and institutions who falsely claim to represent the conclusions of all informed scientists. As a result, students who have not independently studied the evidence about fossil fuels often exhibit a doctrinaire and intolerant viewpoint toward dissenting opinions. For example, when one of us (Alex Epstein) spoke recently at Vassar College on the benefits and hazards of fossil fuels, the divestment movement did not publicly challenge his arguments despite being invited to do so—they staged a walkout, attempting to pressure their peers into refusing even to hear an “unacceptable” view. To their credit, many Vassar students denounced the movement and were inspired to extensively study and debate the issues. Universities around the country should follow their example by providing more education and promoting more debate, so that the best ideas can win out. The undersigned scientists, philosophers, energy experts, and economists are willing to debate anytime, anywhere to defend what we believe is right. If our opponents are willing, then together we can help create a truly educated student body that takes informed positions. If our opponents will not debate but insist on securing your imprimatur to win the argument for them, then please tell them that you are an institution of education—not indoctrination. Sincerely, Ralph B. Alexander, Ph.D. Former Associate Professor of Physics Wayne State University! Meredith Angwin President, Vermont Energy Education Project The Ethan Allen Institute! J. Scott Armstrong, Ph.D. Professor, University of Pennsylvania Co-founder of the International Institute of Forecasting Author of Principles of Forecasting! H. Spencer Banzhaf, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University! Gregory A. Benford, Ph.D. Professor, Physics & Astronomy University of California, Irvine! Andrew Bernstein, Ph.D. Author, The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic, and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire! Edwin X. Berry, Ph.D., Physics AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist ClimatePhysics.com! Samuel Bostaph, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Economics University of Dallas Robert Bradley, Jr., Ph.D. CEO, Institute for Energy Research F. Paul Brady, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Physics University of California, Davis! Jan L. Breslow, M.D. Fredrick Henry Leonhardt Professor, Rockefeller University Head Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism Senior Physician Rockefeller Hospital! H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis! William N. Butos, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Trinity College, Hartford! Jeremy Carl Research Fellow Hoover Institution Stanford University! Robert M. Carter, Ph.D. Chief Science Advisor International Climate Science Coalition! Ian Clark, Ph.D.! Professor, Earth Sciences University of Ottawa! Frank Clemente, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Social Science Penn State University Jeffrey Conopask, Ph.D. Regulatory Economist Consulting Economist Energy Economist Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Donn Dears Power For USA.com, Energy expert, author and retired GE Company Senior Executive! Eric Dennis, Ph.D.! Senior Fellow Center for Industrial Progress! Roger Donway! Senior Research Fellow Institute for Energy Research Nicholas Drapela, Ph.D., Chemistry Retired Senior Faculty Oregon State University Inventor, Business Owner! John Droz, Jr., Ph.D. Physicist, Founder of Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED)! Michael J. Economides, Ph.D. Prof. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Cullen College of Engineering University of Houston! Ross B. Emmett, Ph.D. Professor of Political Economy and Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, James Madison College Michigan State University! Jon Entine! Senior Fellow, Center for Health & Risk Communication George Mason University Senior Fellow, Statistical Assessment Service George Mason University Founder, Executive Director, Genetic Literacy Project!! Alex Epstein! President, Center for Industrial Progress Peter Ferrara White House Office of Policy Development President Reagan! Martin Fricke, Ph.D.! Fellow, American Physical Society ! Gordon J. Fulks, Ph.D., Physics! Mission Research Corporation and Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research of the University of Chicago! Rodger L. Gamblin, Ph.D., Physics Inventor, Dayton, OH! Ulrich H. Gerlach, Ph.D. Physicist and Professor Vice Chair of Mathematics, OSU! Paul J. Gessing! President, Rio Grande Foundation! Ivar Giaever, Ph.D. Nobel Laureate 197! CTO Applied BioPhysics, Inc.!! Steve Goreham Executive Director Climate Science Coalition of America! Laurence I. Gould, Ph.D. Professor of Physics, University of Hartford! William Happer, Ph.D.! Professor of Physics Princeton University !! Steven F. Hayward, Ph.D. William E. Simon Distinguished Visiting Professor Pepperdine University School of Public Policy! David R. Henderson, Ph.D.! Research Fellow Hoover Institution Stanford University! Mark W. Hendrickson, Ph.D.! Peter Holle Founding President Frontier Centre for Public Policy ! Steven Horwitz, Ph.D. Professor of Economics St. Lawrence University! Martin Hovland, Ph.D., MSc, FGS! Professor Emeritus! James L. Huffman, Ph.D.! Dean Emeritus, Lewis & Clark Law School! Gary Hull, Ph.D.! Director, VEM, Duke University Durham, NC! Kevin P. Kane President, Pelican Institute for Public Policy! M. L. Khandekar, Ph.D. Expert Reviewer 2007 Climate Change IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change! Alan Charles Kors, Ph.D.! Henry Charles Lea Professor of History University of Pennsylvania! David R. Legates, Ph.D., Climatology! AMS Certified Consulting! Bryan Leyland, MSc, FIEE(rtd), FIMechE, FIPENZ Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D.! Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Emeritus, MIT! Anthony R. Lupo, Ph.D.! Professor, Atmospheric Science University of Missouri! James Macdonald Retired Chief Meteorologist for the Travelers Weather Service Tibor R. Machan, Ph.D. R. C. Hoiles Chair in Business Ethics & Free Enterprise Argyros School of Business & Economics Chapman University! Richard Marrus, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Physics University of California, Berkeley Fellow, American Physical Society! John M. Martinis, Ph.D.! Professor of Physics University of California Santa Barbara! Henry I. Miller, M.D.! Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy & Public Policy Hoover Institution Stanford University! Andrew P. Morriss, Ph.D.! D. Paul Jones, Jr. & Charlene Jones Chair in Law The University of Alabama School of Law! Michael C. Munger, Ph.D.! Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program Duke University! Deroy Murdock Senior Fellow Atlas Economic Research Foundation Iain Murray! Vice President Competitive Enterprise Institute! Russ Nieli, Ph.D.! Princeton University ! C. Kenneth Orski! Editor/Publisher Innovation NewsBriefs! Mark J. Perry, Ph.D.! Professor of Finance and Business Economics University of Michigan-Flint! Ned S. Rasor, Ph.D.! Consulting Physicist, Kettering, Ohio! George Reisman, Ph.D.! Pepperdine University Emeritus Professor of Economics Author, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics! John E. Rhoads, Ph.D., PE! Wichita Falls, Texas Matt Ridley, Ph.D.! Foreign Honorary Member American Academy of Arts and Sciences! Berol Robinson, Ph.D.! Association of Ecologists for Nuclear Energy ! David
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Review of George Reisman's Capitalism
    LIBERTARIAN PAPERS VOL. 1, ART. NO. 14 (2009) A TREATISE FOR A NEW AGE IN ECONOMIC THEORY: REVIEW OF GEORGE REISMAN’S CAPITALISM WLADIMIR KRAUS* CAPITALISM: A TREATISE ON ECONOMICS. By George Reisman. Ottawa, IL: Jameson Books, 1996. THE BOOK UNDER REVIEW, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics,1 has been in print since 1996. Its enormous size and the vast array of topics covered suggest enormous scholarship and devotion. Its expressed purpose is a thorough integration of leading economic phenomena into one unified theory of the market process. Yet virtually no serious attention on the part of academic economists has been paid to its many highly original contributions and bold challenges to received orthodoxy. This review aims at a compressed presentation and analysis of some of the book’s main contributions to political economy, and hopes thereby to kick off a rigorous discussion of its substantive ideas. To put the extent of George Reisman’s intellectual achievement into a single sentence: for a full understanding of economic institutions of capitalism the reading and very careful studying of his Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics is absolutely essential. Nowhere will one find a clearer, more comprehensive, more rigorous, more persuasive and thus exactly for these reasons absolutely enthralling description and explanation of all leading economic institutions of capitalism. *Wladimir Kraus ([email protected]) is a PhD candidate in Institutions, Economics, and Law at IEL-International Programme in Institutions, Economics, and Law, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy. CITE THIS ARTICLE AS: Wladimir Kraus, “A Treatise for A New Age in Economic Theory: A Review of George Reisman’s Capitalism,” Libertarian Papers 1, 14 (2009).
    [Show full text]
  • CAPITALISM a Treatise on Economics George Reisman
    CAPITALISM CAPITALISM A Treatise on Economics Prepublication, Interim Edition George Reisman Jameson Books, Ottawa, Illinois Copyright © 1998, 1996, 1990 by George Reisman. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Mail order copies of this book may be purchased from the publisher by call- ing 800-426-1357. All inquiries should be addressed to Jameson Books, 722 Columbus St., Ottawa, IL 61350. (815)-434-7905. Fax: (815)-434-7907. Distributed to the book trade by MidPoint Trade Books. All returns to the MidPoint warehouse. Bookstores, please call 800-243-0138 to order. Photocopying of excerpts from Jameson Books editions are licensed through the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. Call 508-750-8400 for information. ISBN: 0-915463-73-3 Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 96-78105 Manufactured in the United States of America 09 08 07 06 05 04 / 8 7 6 5 4 To Ludwig von Mises, my teacher, and Edith Packer, my wife. CONTENTS IN BRIEF PREFACE xxxix INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE THE FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMICS CHAPTER 1. ECONOMICS AND CAPITALISM 15 CHAPTER 2. WEALTH AND ITS ROLE IN HUMAN LIFE 39 CHAPTER 3. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 63 PART TWO THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND CAPITALISM CHAPTER 4. THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND PRODUCTION 123 CHAPTER 5. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM I 135 CHAPTER 6. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON CAPITALISM II: THE PRICE SYSTEM AND ECONOMIC COORDINATION 172 CHAPTER 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction 1 Money, Banking, and Inflation
    Notes Introduction 1. Murray N. Rothbard, The Panic of 1819: Reactions and Policies (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962). 1 Money, Banking, and Inflation 1. Brian Simpson, “Money, Banking, and the Business Cycle,” audio recording (Irvine, CA: Second Renaissance, Inc., 2005) and Brian P. Simpson, Trade Cycle Theory: A Market Process Perspective (Ann Arbor, MI: Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company, 2000), pp. 78–79. 2. George Reisman, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics (Ottawa, IL: Jameson Books, 1996), pp. 512–513. 3. See Chapter 4 of Brian P. Simpson, Money, Banking, and the Business Cycle, Volume 2: Remedies and Alternative Theories (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) for a discussion of this topic. 4. Lawrence H. White, “A Subjectivist Perspective on the Definition and Identification of Money,” in Israel M. Kirzner, ed., Subjectivism, Intelligibility and Economic Understanding (Washington Square: New York University Press, 1986), pp. 301– 314. See in particular pp. 310–311. 5. I ignore the existence of fractional-reserve banking here. The creation of money through credit-card loans under fractional-reserve banking (to the extent that it occurs) is not particular to credit-card loans. It is true of all loans made through the fractional- reserve process and thus is not a phenomenon of credit-card loans but of fractional- reserve banking. Fractional-reserve banking is discussed below in this chapter and in Chapter 4 of Simpson, Money, Banking, and the Business Cycle, Volume 2. 6. See Steven J. Pilloff, “Money Market Mutual Funds: Are They a Close Substitute for Accounts at Insured Depository Institutions?” The Antitrust Bulletin vol.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jefferson School of Philosophy
    The Jefferson School of Philosophy. F.conomics. aod Psychology announces a summer conference THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF A FREE SOCIETY VI to be held at the Clarion Hotel, San Francisco Alrpod, August 1 - 15, 1993 The Jefferson School has been created to advance and dissemin'1e the Jlhilosophical and scientific knowledge that is nec;essary to the existtnce of a flee society. Accordingly, the School's primary mission is the further development, application, and teaching of the 1deu of the pto-:r~ pro-individualist phil,010phers and the pro-freedom, pro-capitalist economists, and of compatible ideu in the field of psychology. ~ of 1t1 activities and programs feature the relevant doctrines of Objectivist and Aristotelian philosophy and of "Austrian" and Classical econorrucs. PRF.SmBNT . ~-- .J ---- VICB--PRESIDE:N'f-----'---~-ooNFERENeE COORDINAreR- George Reisman, Ph.D. Edith Packer, I.D., Ph.D. Diane LeMont, M.A. THE CORE PROGRAM: Thirty-three and a half hours of instruction Leonard Pelkoff, Seven Great Plays a, Philosophy and a, LHerature (seven two-hour Nlllona and one hour-and-a-half INllon devoted entirely to questions and answers) This course is a unique exercise in two skills: philosophic detection and rational esthetic judgment Dr. Peikoff analyus seven great plays from ancient Greece to the 20th Century (works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Corneille, Schiller, Ibsen, Shaw and-a favorite of Ayn Rand's-Maeterlinck's Morma Vanna). In each case, he sho~s how to discover the essence of the Splot and the motivation of the central characters. He then demonstrates how to identify a play's th~e and deeper abstract meaning.
    [Show full text]
  • FEBRUARY 1994 Obiectivism in Academia
    News frorn The Ayn Rand Institure FEBRUARY1994 Upcoming Events: OGC Seeks Applicants.' The Objectivist GraduateCen- Seismic Response: To thosepeople who calledto inquire ter invites applicationsfrom graduatestudents in philosophy about our safety after the earthquakein Los Angeles,we thank or cognatefields, such as.the social sciencesand humanities. you for your concern. With the exception of a few items All coursesare accessiblethroughout the country through an thrown to the floor during the initial quake the Institute suf- audio link-up and videoconferencingmay be in place for the fered no demage. fall semester. For an application form, write to ARI. Ayn Rand in Russian: Medical Panel Rescheduled: "The Clinton Health Care Plan-Malignant or Benign?" a panel discussionin the Los The Book Retums: A Russiantranslation of Wethe Living Angelesarea featuring Dr. George Reismanand Dr. Peter has beenpublished by an entrepreneurin St. Fetersburg,the kPort has been tentatively rescheduledfor early March be- city Ayn Rand left when she moved to the United States. The causeof the earthquake. Proponentsof socialized medicine Januaryrelease heralds the possiblepublication of six addi- will be representedon the panel by a leading hospital adninis- tional titles to be translatedand sold in Russia. Scheduled trator and by a medical advisor to PresidentClinton. The next is The Fountainheadto be followed by Atlns Shrugged. event is sponsoredin part by ARI and by the OccidentalCol- lege premedicalsociety. For further information call Occi- Russian in Amefica: SecondRenaissance Books arurounces dental College (213) 259-2500or Ginger Clark at ARI in late that during the holiday seasonthey sold out of The Morality of February. Individwlism, the Russian-languagetranslation of Ayn Rand's essayspublished by ARI.
    [Show full text]
  • Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism Daniel P
    State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College Digital Commons at Buffalo State History Theses History and Social Studies Education 12-2012 Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism Daniel P. Stanford [email protected] Advisor Gary Marotta, Ph.D., Professor of History First Reader Gary Marotta, Ph.D., Professor of History Second Reader John D. Abromeit, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History Department Chair Andrew D. Nicholls, Ph.D., Professor of History To learn more about the History and Social Studies Education Department and its educational programs, research, and resources, go to http://history.buffalostate.edu/. Recommended Citation Stanford, Daniel P., "Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism" (2012). History Theses. Paper 13. Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/history_theses Part of the European History Commons, Intellectual History Commons, and the United States History Commons Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism by Daniel P. Stanford An Abstract of a Thesis in History Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts December 2012 College at Buffalo State University of New York Department of History 1 ABSTRACT OF THESIS Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism This paper explores the intellectual life and writings of Professor Emeritus in History at Buffalo State College, Ralph Raico. The central thesis seeks to portray Professor Raico as the great modern libertarian revisionist historian, and the great modern champion of historical, classical liberalism. More broadly, the work attempts to solidify Professor Raico’s reputation as a major figure in the modern American libertarian movement. Raico’s intellectual foundations are fully developed, beginning from grade school at Bronx High School of Science, to his attendance of Ludwig von Mises’s New York University seminar, to his P.h.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Leighton Smith
    LLEIGHTONEIGHTON SSMITHMITH: WWhathat mmakesakes hhimim ttick?ick? – IInterviewnterview IInsidenside SSUEUE BBRADFORDRADFORD: WWhyhy iiss sshehe ssmackingmacking pparents!arents! OR F F R S E SSOCIALISTOCIALIST SSWEDENWEDEN: WWhyhy ddoesoes iitt wwork?ork? E W D O O L GGODOD: Dawkins explodes the delusion! M B 7474 JJOHNOHN KKEYEY: Anything there? NZ $8.50 March - April 2007 After the release of the report on global warming prepared by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the call for a new environmental body to slow global warming and protect the planet -- a body that potentially could have policing powers to punish violators -- was led by French President Jacques Chirac. The meaning of this “effort” is that Chirac is attempting to make an international crime out of attempts to increase production and raise living standards. I am not surprised by this attempt to criminalize productive activity. In fact, I predicted it. - George Reisman, p.16 The NNooseoEEnvironmentalnvoirosnmeen tal iiss TTighteningightening NOT EXTRA: “Global Warming: The panic is offi cially over” - Monckton TAXPAYER FUNDED Subscribe NOW To The Free Radical Dear Reader, Said former editor Lindsay Perigo: Said Samuel Adams, “It does not An army of principle will penetrate The Free Radical is fearless, “How do we get government as require a majority to prevail, but where an army of soldiers cannot; it will succeed where diplomatic freedom-loving and brim-full of it might be & ought to be? It will rather an irate, tireless minority management would fail; it is great writing and good reading take a revolution inside people’s keen to set brush fi res in people’s neither the Rhine, the Channel, nor the ocean that can arrest – writing that challenges all the heads.” The Free Radical is fully minds.” The Free Radical is where its progress; it will march on the sacred cows, and gets you committed to that revolution that irate, tireless minority speaks horizon of the world ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Indispensability of Freedom 8Th International Conference the Austrian School of Economics in the 21St Century
    The Indispensability of Freedom TITLE 8th International Conference The Austrian School in the 21st Century Federico N. Fernández Barbara Kolm Victoria Schmid (Eds.) Friedrich A.v.Hayek Institut The Indispensability of Freedom 8th International Conference The Austrian School of Economics in the 21st Century Federico N. Fernández Barbara Kolm Victoria Schmid (Eds.) Papers presented on November 13th and 14th, 2019 Published by the Austrian Economics Center and Fundación International Bases www.austriancenter.com www.fundacionbases.org Copyright ©2020 by Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institut, Vienna Federico N. Fernández, Barbara Kolm, and Victoria Schmid (Eds.) All rights reserved. No texts from this book may be reprinted or posted in any form without prior written permission from the copyright holders. Design and composition by Victoria Schmid Cover photo by Anton Aleksenko | Dreamstime.com ISBN: 978-3-902466-17-4 First Edition 2 3 4 Content Austrian Economics Conference 2019 Preface Robert Holzmann 13 The History of the Austrian Economics Conference The Editors 15 Juan Carlos Cachanosky Memorial Lecture I. The Continuing Importance of Misesian Economics Robert Murphy 17 II. Keynote: Geopolitics, Economic Freedom, and Economic Performance Erich Weede 31 1. The Role of Non-Democratic Institutions in a Democracy, according to Montesquieu, Tocqueville, Acton, Popper, and Hayek, Applied to the EU Jitte Akkermans 45 2. Mind with a purpose: a humanistic conversation between Psychology and some postulates of the Austrian School of Economics Silvia Aleman Menduinna 59 3. What Is Wrong With Sustainable Development Goals? Horacio Miguel Arana 71 5 Content 4. A Unique Methodology using the Principles of the Austrian School of Economics – Applied To Investing and Trading Richard Bonugli 83 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmentalism in the Light of Menger and Mises
    ARTICLES ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE LIGHT OF MENGER AND MISES GEORGE REISMAN I he two essential claims of the environmentalists, which I take for granted are already well known, are (1) that continued economic progress is impossible because of the impending exhaustion of natu- Tral resources (it is from this notion that the slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle” comes), and (2) that continued economic progress, indeed, much of the eco- nomic progress that we have had up to now, is destructive of the environment and is therefore dangerous. The essential policy prescription of the environ- mentalists is the prohibition of self-interested individual action insofar as the byproduct of such action when performed on a mass basis is alleged damage to the environment. The leading concrete example of this policy prescription is the attempt now under way to force individuals to give up such things as their automobiles and air conditioners on the grounds that the byproduct of hundreds of millions or billions of people operating such devices is to cause global warming. And this same example, of course, is presently the leading example of the alleged dangers of economic progress. The basis of my critique of the essential claims of the environmentalists is Carl Menger’s theory of goods. The basis of my critique of their essential pol- icy prescription is the spirit of individualism that runs throughout the writ- ings of Ludwig von Mises. GEORGE REISMAN is professor of economics at Pepperdine University. He is the author of Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics (Ottawa, Ill.: Jameson Books, 1996) and is the trans- lator of Ludwig von Mises’s Epistemological Problems of Economics (New York: D.
    [Show full text]
  • Against Intellectual Property
    AGAINST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY “Against Intellectual Property” first appeared as part of the symposium Applications of Libertarian Legal Theory, published in the Journal of Libertarian Studies 15, no. 2 (Spring 2001). Copyright © 2008 Ludwig von Mises Institute For information, write the Ludwig von Mises Institute, 518 West Magnolia Avenue, Auburn, Alabama 36832, U.S.A AGAINST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY N. Stephan Kinsella Ludwig von Mises Institute Auburn, Alabama CONTENTS PROPERTY RIGHTS: TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE . 7 SUMMARY OF IP LAW . 9 Type of IP. 9 Copyright . 10 Patent . 10 Trade Secret . 11 Trademark. 12 IP Rights and Relation to Tangible Property . 14 LIBERTARIAN PERSPECTIVES ON IP . .16 The Spectrum . 16 Utilitarian Defenses of IP . 19 Some Problems with Natural Rights . 23 IP AND PROPERTY RIGHTS . .28 Property and Scarcity . 28 Scarcity and Ideas . 32 Creation vs. Scarcity . 36 Two Types of Homesteading . 43 5 6— Against Intellectual Property IP AS CONTRACT . .45 The Limits of Contract. 45 Contract vs. Reserved Rights . 47 Copyright and Patent . 55 Trade Secret . 56 Trademark. 58 CONCLUSION . .59 APPENDIX Some Questionable Examples of Patents and Copyrights . 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY . .63 AGAINST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROPERTY RIGHTS: TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE ll libertarians favor property rights, and agree that property rights include rights in tangible resources. AThese resources include immovables (realty) such as land and houses, and movables such as chairs, clubs, cars, and clocks.1 Further, all libertarians support rights in one’s own body. Such rights may be called “self-ownership” as long as one keeps in mind that there is dispute about whether such body-ownership is alienable in the same way that rights in homesteadable, external objects are alienable.2 In any 1Terms like “realty,” “personalty,” and “tangible” are common-law terms; anal- ogous civil-law terms are “immovables,” “movables,” and “corporeals,” respec- tively.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Court of Appeals of the Stae of Washington
    1 97934-1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STAE OF WASHINGTON. PETITION FOR REVIEW-No. 79825-7-I. PETITION FOR REVIEW OF A COURT OF APPEALS DECISION (RULES ON APPEAL 13.1-13.5) TERMINATING REVIEW. The Case of Mr. Joel Christopher Holmes, 4700 12TH Avenue, Northeast, #204, (206)-898-9744, [email protected], [email protected], Plaintiff/Appellant, VERSUS, The City of Seattle, Seattle Human Rights Commission, 700 Central Building, 800 Third Avenue, Seattle, 98104, Defendant-Appellee. Defendant’s Attorney: The City of Seattle City Attorney, Hon. Peter G. Holmes, Seattle City Attorney, Ms. Cynthia Diane Williams, Assistant City Attorney, 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite #2050, Seattle, Washington, 98104. Plaintiff (Complainant) Petitioner’s Petition for Discretionary (Supreme Court) Review. On Appeal and Petition From The Honorable Judges Karen Donohue (Dept. 22) & Catherine Shaffer (Dept. 11), King County Superior Court, No. 18-2-17996-3. PRESENTED BY: Mr. Joel Christopher Holmes, Pro Se, Petitioner, December 4, 2019._________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ IDENTITY OF PETITIONER. MR. JOEL C. HOLMES, the Complainant in the City’s Administrative Procedure below (City of Seattle Human Rights Commission) and the Appellant in the King County Superior Court (No. 18-2-17996-3, Oct. 26, 2018) and in the Court of Appeals below, Hereby Petitions the Washington Supreme Court, for Discretionary Review of the enclosed Court of Appeals decision Terminating Review (RAP 13.1-5), filed on November 12, 2019. SUMMARY OF FACTS AND PROCEDURE. Pet., was summarily excluded from entering the ostensibly “public” Division I Court of appeals courthouse and offices, located on the Ground Floor of the “privately-owned” One Union Square Building, 600 University Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, on Monday July 10, and on Tuesday, July 11, 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Liberty Magazine January 1998 Mime Type
    The Crash of '97: J_an_u_ar:.-y1_99_8 ..:..-V_ol_,1_l,_N_o,_3 $4_,_00 Prelude to Disaster? "Individuality is the arm ofpolitical liberty. " -James Fenimore Cooper This specialseries oftalks andpanels is yoursfor only $105 (video) orjust $35 (audiocassette): The Problems and Challenges ofWriting Rand's Biography. Featuring Barbara Branden. (Audio: A225; Video: V225) Arguing with Ayn Rand. Featuring Rand's friend, eminent philosopher John Hospers. (Audio: A226; Video: V226) Ayn Rand's Ethics. Is egoism ancient? The Russian Radical . .. Featuring Nietzsche scholar Lester Chris Sciabarra's breakthrough study ofRand's Hunt. (Audio: A227; Video: philosophical origins has challenged thousands of V227) readers. A fascinating re-interpretation ofRand's whole That Fountainhead Rape. A approach to philosophy. discussion ofRand's sex '~The most thorough and scholarly work ever scenes, featuring Barbara done on Ayn Rand. " -John Hospers Branden. (Audio: A228; We offer Ayn Rand.· The Russian Radical in a beautiful Video: V228) hardcover edition for only $21.95 (list price: $55.00), Ayn Rand and Libertarianism. while supplies last! 477 engrossing pages. ($2.00 s&h) Featuring R.W. Bradford. (Audio: A229; Video: V229) Also: Letters ofAyn Rand, edited by Michael Berliner. What Is Living and What We offer this hardcover edition for $24.95 - $10.00 Is Dead in the Philosophy offthe publisher's price! 681 pages ofabsorbing ofAyn Rand. Featuring reading. ($2.00 s&h) Barbara Branden, John Hospers, Lester Hunt, and R.W. Bradford. (Audio: The Passion ofAyn Rand, by Barbara Branden. The classic, definitive biography ofRand, explores both the A230; Video: V230) light and the dark.ofthis brilliant woman's life.
    [Show full text]